The magazine uses ABM Building and Energy Solutions, one of the largest facility management services providers in the U.S., as a case study of sorts for how the incorporation of GPS location data helped the company track its projects, please customers and keep tabs on its employees and equipment.

Some of the highlights:

The company can better track how long technicians are at a particular site, providing data to back-up hourly rate claims if a customer questions their bill.

The company saves up to 30 minutes when an emergency call arrives. Instead of a dispatcher contacting technicians to figure out who should respond, the GPS data makes that decision immediately.

Knowing where the technicians are has provided both efficiency and safety benefits. Employee safety is improved because vehicle location and diagnostic and maintenance information is tracked in real-time. Management is also aware of any technicians currently dispatched in geographic regions with severe weather or other emergencies and can notify them.

The system helps improve time management and reduce fuel costs. It can calculate how much fuel each vehicle should use based on mileage. Management receives a 15-minute idle time alarm if a company truck idles too long and also receives alarms if the drivers exceed the posted speed limit or do any harsh braking.

On the job site, ABM technicians use a mobile application to enter work order information and log time. At the end of the week, the GPS data and mobile app data are reconciled.

We know what you are thinking: Sounds great, but my company isn't as huge as ABM and doesn't have the resources for customized app development like that. Not true.

The new tool improved their operations, increased revenue and reduced costs. The mobile and central web applications also increased daily productivity for the technicians — a factor that ultimately allowed the company to pay for the development costs in the first year of operations.

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